Small Dealers Holding On, For Now

Small retailers are holding their own for now, but many said the economic crisis and credit freeze will cut deeper into their businesses as the year progresses.

"Fortunately, it hasn't affected us yet because all of our vendors have us on 30-day payments," Scott Knouse of Knouse-Fisher Technologies, Burnham, Pa., said during D&H Distributing's recent Mid-Atlantic Fall Tech Show in Hershey, Pa. "The future, though, will get worse, especially if vendors cut their terms."

Knouse, who runs a small retail store and service business focused on computer-related products, said hardware and software sales are still good, but that many small- to medium-size businesses have cut back on their consumerables, such as printer toner. "That's usually the first thing to go," he said.

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